25 dogs perish in Riverside house fire

Authorities say 25 dogs died Tuesday night in a Riverside house fire. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas has details.

Steven Cuevas: The single-story ranch house was so jam-packed with stacks of paper, discarded appliances, and other debris that firefighters had a hard time getting inside. When the smoke cleared, they discovered the bodies of 14 Maltese dogs in a room that had been converted into a kennel. Firefighters returned to the house later to douse a flare-up, and that’s when they found 11 more dogs dead inside.

John Welsh: Essentially cowered in this other room, perhaps trying to escape the smoke.

Cuevas: John Welsh from Riverside County Animal Services says the dogs did not appear malnourished, but he says there were other problems.

John Welsh: The coats of the dogs were all matted. Coats actually overgrow to where the paw area is. And a lot of the nails of the dogs were not clipped. Now a dog that’s exercised routinely, the nails will work their way down naturally. These dogs did not appear in our first assessment to have been exercised for any periods of time.

Cuevas: Welsh says the dogs were apparently victims of smoke inhalation, but it will take necropsies to confirm that. He says the homeowner appears to have licenses for only two dogs. She could be cited for that, and she might also face animal neglect charges.